Moth nu Dal (Moth Bean Dal)

Moth beans don't tend to be one of my go-to legumes, but I was looking for an easy dal recipe and I had some moth beans easily to hand... I still think I like some of the other legumes better, but this dal did come out pleasingly warm and creamy. It made a nice complement to the other curries we had for dinner last night.

Moth nu dal (left), with muttai kari (top), palak papad ki subzi (right), and moghalai aloo aur simla mirch (bottom) with some rice in the middle.

Moth nu Dal

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 c. moth beans (uncooked)
• 3 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 onion, halved and sliced thin
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 15 fresh (or frozen) curry leaves
• 2-4 fresh green Thai chilies, cut into 1cm lengths
• juice of 1 lime

Directions

1. Rinse beans well and place in pressure cooker with water.
2. Bring up to pressure and cook for 10 minutes, allow for a 15-minute natural release before opening the cooker. (10 minutes on high pressure with 15-minute natural release in InstantPot.)
3. Meanwhile, heat ghee over medium-high heat.
4. Add mustard seeds, cover, and cook until they stop popping (30-60 seconds).
5. Add onion and cook until lightly browned (~3 minutes).
6. Remove from heat and stir in turmeric.
7. Add cilantro, salt, curry leaves, and chilies and set aside.
8. Once beans are cooked, stir the onion mixture into the beans.
9. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes to allow flavours to meld. Add a little more water if you'd like a thinner consistency.
10. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice.